Undecidable semiassociative relation algebras

1994 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 398-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger D. Maddux

AbstractIf K is a class of semiassociative relation algebras and K contains the relation algebra of all binary relations on a denumerable set, then the word problem for the free algebra over K on one generator is unsolvable. This result implies that the set of sentences which are provable in the formalism ℒw× is an undecidable theory. A stronger algebraic result shows that the set of logically valid sentences in ℒw× forms a hereditarily undecidable theory in ℒw×. These results generalize similar theorems, due to Tarski, concerning relation algebras and the formalism ℒ×.

1992 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 1213-1229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger D. Maddux

AbstractConjecture (1) of [Ma83] is confirmed here by the following result: if 3 ≤ α < ω, then there is a finite relation algebra of dimension α, which is not a relation algebra of dimension α + 1. A logical consequence of this theorem is that for every finite α ≥ 3 there is a formula of the form S ⊆ T (asserting that one binary relation is included in another), which is provable with α + 1 variables, but not provable with only α variables (using a special sequent calculus designed for deducing properties of binary relations).


2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Givant ◽  
Hajnal Andréka

AbstractIn 1941, Tarski published an abstract, finitely axiomatized version of the theory of binary relations, called the theory of relation algebras. He asked whether every model of his abstract theory could be represented as a concrete algebra of binary relations. He and Jónsson obtained some initial, positive results for special classes of abstract relation algebras. But Lyndon showed, in 1950, that in general the answer to Tarski's question is negative. Monk proved later that the answer remains negative even if one adjoins finitely many new axioms to Tarski's system. In this paper we describe a far-reaching generalization of the positive results of Jónsson and Tarski, as well as of some later, related results of Maddux. We construct a class of concrete models of Tarski's axioms—called coset relation algebras—that are very close in spirit to algebras of binary relations, but are built using systems of groups and cosets instead of elements of a base set. The models include all algebras of binary relations, and many non-representable relation algebras as well. We prove that every atomic relation algebra satisfying a certain measurability condition—a condition generalizing the conditions imposed by Jónsson and Tarski—is essentially isomorphic to a coset relation algebra. The theorem raises the possibility of providing a positive solution to Tarski's problem by using coset relation algebras instead of the standard algebras of binary relations.


2018 ◽  
Vol 83 (04) ◽  
pp. 1595-1609 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEVEN GIVANT ◽  
HAJNAL ANDRÉKA

AbstractGivant [6] generalized the notion of an atomic pair-dense relation algebra from Maddux [13] by defining the notion of a measurable relation algebra, that is to say, a relation algebra in which the identity element is a sum of atoms that can be measured in the sense that the “size” of each such atom can be defined in an intuitive and reasonable way (within the framework of the first-order theory of relation algebras). In Andréka--Givant [2], a large class of examples of such algebras is constructed from systems of groups, coordinated systems of isomorphisms between quotients of the groups, and systems of cosets that are used to “shift” the operation of relative multiplication. In Givant--Andréka [8], it is shown that the class of these full coset relation algebras is adequate to the task of describing all measurable relation algebras in the sense that every atomic and complete measurable relation algebra is isomorphic to a full coset relation algebra.Call an algebra $\mathfrak{A}$ a coset relation algebra if $\mathfrak{A}$ is embeddable into some full coset relation algebra. In the present article, it is shown that the class of coset relation algebras is equationally axiomatizable (that is to say, it is a variety), but that no finite set of sentences suffices to axiomatize the class (that is to say, the class is not finitely axiomatizable).


2012 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 1211-1244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Hirsch ◽  
Marcel Jackson

AbstractIn this article we establish the undecidability of representability and of finite representability as algebras of binary relations in a wide range of signatures. In particular, representability and finite representability are undecidable for Boolean monoids and lattice ordered monoids, while representability is undecidable for Jónsson's relation algebra. We also establish a number of undecidability results for representability as algebras of injective functions.


1992 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 832-843 ◽  
Author(s):  
Balázs Biró

This paper deals with relation, cylindric and polyadic equality algebras. First of all it addresses a problem of B. Jónsson. He asked whether relation set algebras can be expanded by finitely many new operations in a “reasonable” way so that the class of these expansions would possess a finite equational base. The present paper gives a negative answer to this problem: Our main theorem states that whenever Rs+ is a class that consists of expansions of relation set algebras such that each operation of Rs+ is logical in Jónsson's sense, i.e., is the algebraic counterpart of some (derived) connective of first-order logic, then the equational theory of Rs+ has no finite axiom systems. Similar results are stated for the other classes mentioned above. As a corollary to this theorem we can solve a problem of Tarski and Givant [87], Namely, we claim that the valid formulas of certain languages cannot be axiomatized by a finite set of logical axiom schemes. At the same time we give a negative solution for a version of a problem of Henkin and Monk [74] (cf. also Monk [70] and Németi [89]).Throughout we use the terminology, notation and results of Henkin, Monk, Tarski [71] and [85]. We also use results of Maddux [89a].Notation. RA denotes the class of relation algebras, Rs denotes the class of relation set algebras and RRA is the class of representable relation algebras, i.e. the class of subdirect products of relation set algebras. The symbols RA, Rs and RRA abbreviate also the expressions relation algebra, relation set algebra and representable relation algebra, respectively.For any class C of similar algebras EqC is the set of identities that hold in C, while Eq1C is the set of those identities in EqC that contain at most one variable symbol. (We note that Henkin et al. [85] uses the symbol EqC in another sense.)


1968 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
James McCool

A free product sixth-group (FPS-group) is, roughly speaking, a free product of groups with a number of additional defining relators, where, if two of these relators have a subword in common, then the length of this subword is less than one sixth of the lengths of either of the two relators.Britton [1,2] has proved a general algebraic result for FPS-groups and has used this result in a discussion of the word problem for such groups.


2002 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 197-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Hirsch ◽  
Ian Hodkinson ◽  
Roger D. Maddux

AbstractWe confirm a conjecture, about neat embeddings of cylindric algebras, made in 1969 by J. D. Monk, and a later conjecture by Maddux about relation algebras obtained from cylindric algebras. These results in algebraic logic have the following consequence for predicate logic: for every finite cardinal α ≥ 3 there is a logically valid sentence X, in a first-order language ℒ with equality and exactly one nonlogical binary relation symbol E, such that X contains only 3 variables (each of which may occur arbitrarily many times), X has a proof containing exactly α + 1 variables, but X has no proof containing only α variables. This solves a problem posed by Tarski and Givant in 1987.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelle Hellings ◽  
Catherine L Pilachowski ◽  
Dirk Van Gucht ◽  
Marc Gyssens ◽  
Yuqing Wu

Abstract Many graph query languages rely on composition to navigate graphs and select nodes of interest, even though evaluating compositions of relations can be costly. Often, this need for composition can be reduced by rewriting toward queries using semi-joins instead, resulting in a significant reduction of the query evaluation cost. We study techniques to recognize and apply such rewritings. Concretely, we study the relationship between the expressive power of the relation algebras, which heavily rely on composition, and the semi-join algebras, which replace composition in favor of semi-joins. Our main result is that each fragment of the relation algebras where intersection and/or difference is only used on edges (and not on complex compositions) is expressively equivalent to a fragment of the semi-join algebras. This expressive equivalence holds for node queries evaluating to sets of nodes. For practical relevance, we exhibit constructive rules for rewriting relation algebra queries to semi-join algebra queries and prove that they lead to only a well-bounded increase in the number of steps needed to evaluate the rewritten queries. In addition, on sibling-ordered trees, we establish new relationships among the expressive power of Regular XPath, Conditional XPath, FO-logic and the semi-join algebra augmented with restricted fixpoint operators.


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